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Updated: Jul 19, 2026
Laparoscopic Left Hemihepatectomy Combined with Caudate Lobe Resection
Published on: April 11, 2025
Small remnant liver volume after right lobe living donor hepatectomy
Salleh Ibrahim1, Chao-Long Chen, Chih-Chi Wang
1Liver Transplant Program, Department of Surgery, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Kaohsiung Medical Center, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
Background:
Right lobe living donor liver transplantation has become a viable option for adult patients with end-stage liver disease, however, the safety of the donor is of paramount importance. One of the key factors in donor safety is ensuring adequate donor remnant liver volume.
Methods:
We retrospectively examined donors who had less than 30% remnant liver volume after right graft procurement. Eighty-six right lobe living donor transplants were carried out in Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Kaohsiung Medical Center, from January 1999 to December 2004.
Results:
Eight donors had less than 30% remnant liver volume (Group 1) after graft procurement and 78 donors had remnant liver volume greater than 30% (Group 2). There were no differences in donor characteristics, types of graft, operative parameters, and post-operative liver and renal function as well as liver volume at 6 months post-donation between the 2 groups. The graft weight obtained in Group 1 donors was significantly greater compared with that from Group 2 (P<.005). The overall donor complication rate was 6.98%, and all the complications occurred among group 2 donors.
Conclusions:
The judicious use of donors with less than 30% remnant liver volume is safe as a last resort.
